Cruise
by Emeraldstar8273
Summary: Laelynn survived the Mission City attack, learning that while she lived with a strangely accelerated healing factor that her comrades in arms hadn't been so lucky. Facing their ghosts in both her waking and sleeping hours, and a possessed Pontiac Solstice, this small town girl is pushed to her limits. What else is there to do but join NEST? Jazz/OC
1. Chapter One

**Hey guys, so this has been my baby for a while now. The little idea came to me when I was watching the first movie with my best friends. Upon gushing about it after the movie finished, it stayed in the back of my head for a good month and a half. I moved to a new house and a new school, where I have class about computers. So, for the last half a month once I finished my online assignment, I was pounding out this little fic. It's a Jazz/OC, and yes Jazz survived in this fic! There is a logical reason actually, which is a couple more chapters in or in that chapters end note. I hope to post once a week, probably usually on Saturday. I should be good at updating this time around, as I'm already well into chapter four.**

 **Anyway, the main character is Laelynn, a member of the USAF and survivor of Mission City. She's a small town girl with big dreams of either serving her country or singing her little heart out. The rest of her backstory will be revealed in time.**

 **Enjoy this first chapter! I loved writing it and I hope you love reading it! And this disclaimer applies to the rest of the fanfiction: The only aspect of this story that I own is the plot and all original characters. The Autobots and all such items is the property of their respective owners, ex. Hasbro.**

* * *

The world outside the window had never seemed so weird, Laelynn thought, people walking around like nothing happened. A world without her team was nearly unimaginable, but here the reality was. She was all alone, alone in the sterile white hospital room. Pain, disbelief and anger was all she knew from the moment she heard the doctor explain why her team wasn't visiting, goofing off and getting kicked out. She never knew hospitals could be so quiet. There was the murmur of the doctors hustling around outside her room but it was so quiet inside the room without Josef screeching terror as Rosaline chased him around for some stupid thing he said. She blew out gently, the strands of her brown hair fluttering away from her face.

"Ah, excuse me, is this a Ms. Laylen, um, Amoldiny's room?" A man, with short brown hair and a military uniform peeked in the door.

"Laelynn Amoldine, yes sir. What can I help you with?" She said, sitting up straighter as she corrected his pronunciation of her name. He stepped fully in the door, followed by two other men. One was tall, and had bright blue eyes. His hair was dark, and he had a scar over his left eye. He was a very gruff looking man. The other was an African American man with dreads and blue tinted sunglasses on, seeming very relaxed compared to the gruff man's stiff posture.

"We're with NEST, a new military group. We are under the impression you and your team were present at Mission City?"

 _A teen straining out toward her, a screech of warning, a bang and then pure pain as fire ripp-_ She nodded, shoving the memory back into the box it came from.

"Yes sir, but.."She hesitated, unable to voice the reality of her team's fate.

"I know about your team, Miss Amoldine." He smiled sympathetically. Internally, she raged that she didn't want his pity, but kept a calm surface, only her blue eyes darkening belaying her internal anger. "We wanted to recruit you to serve with us at NEST, as soon as you recover, naturally."

"I'm sorry, sir, but you never told me you nor your companions names?" She asked, with a slight frown.

"Oh, I'm Major Will Lennox and this is Lieutenant Jasper Auto and Weapons Specialist Ron Hide. But call us Will, Jazz and Hide." The Major introduced, pointing out the Lieutenant as the more relaxed and the Specialist as the gruff one.

"Well, Major Lennox sir, I apologize but I plan on returning home as soon as I recover, and have applied to be honorably discharged from the military. If you're worried about me telling about that freaky robot that shot my team and I down, don't worry. I get called wacky as it is." Laelynn shook her head, roving her eyes over the three men. They paused on Lt. Jazz's sunglasses, which were slightly unsettling as Laelynn wasn't quite sure where he was looking. Her eyebrow rose, before she turned her head to the side, resuming her stare out the window.

"Well, we'll leave ah card fur ya in case ya change yur mind." The accent was something Laelynn wasn't expecting, and neither was the card Lt. Jazz stepped forward to drop into her lap. She blinked down at it for a second, before actually picking it up to observe the font. It was fairly generic, with the words "Lt. Jasper Auto, NEST" written on the front. The red, faded box face behind it was something Laelynn had never seen before, though. When she looked up from her observations, she saw the backs of the three men as they left her in peace. She turned the card over in her hands, musing over the strange visit. A small part of her in the very back of her mind was screaming at her to pick herself up and take the job offer, but her heart was pushing her to avoid any new teams lest she endure more pain when she loses them. The white walls weren't helping her mood, the absence of color further depressing her.

Her head had barely hit the pillow behind her when a memory from her team in the very beginning slithered forward.

 _She couldn't believe she had finally made it through basic training. Laelynn grinned as she stepped off the plane in Chicago for a small layover and to meet her future team. They were meeting in Chicago before being shipped just a bit farther east to an Air Force base in central Indiana. Gruesome, or something like that, Laelynn absentmindedly thought, her eyes wide and searching for her waiting area where her team would arrive._

 _"Josef! You dirty mouthed Latino!" She heard a distinct screech from an open door near her. She peeked in the door, seeing a tiny wasp of a woman chasing an equally small Latin American man around the room, much to the amusement of the rest of the occupants. She pulled her head back to check the room label, 2A, and entered the room._

 _"I was expressing my happiness we are on the same team, dear Rosa!" 'Josef' cackled loudly, glancing behind him to grin. He smacked head first into Laelynn, both of them stumbling._

"I never did find out what exactly he said to make her chase him…" She mused to herself, falling asleep to the clamor of the busy hospital.

* * *

Laelynn was not looking forward to the changing of her bandages this morning. Her side had been sore all evening and she was fairly sure it'd be a gross pus filled scab today. Not to mention those men from NEST were on her mind, and it was driving her bonkers. She kept fingering Lt. Jasper's card, mulling over the strange initials. NEST, New Extra Soldiers Team perhaps, she thought as she moved her neck around the best she could without it hurting. Now that she had some admittedly poor rest, and time to think on the offer, it was seeming more appealing. She had to have a job, and those were hard to come by in the current economy. Laelynn shook her head, pushing the dilemma to the back of her mind as someone knocked on her door.

"Come in?" She blinked, the nurses usually didn't bother with waiting for her to answer. Much to her surprise, it wasn't a nurse who slid through the door.

"Hey, ah thought ah'd come see how yur doin'." Lt. Jazz sheepishly grinned, hands tucked down into the pockets of his jeans. "Also, ta see if ya'd thought any 'bout tha offur."

"No, sir, I haven't had much time to think on it. The nurses seem keen to keep me sedated." Laelynn smirked. "They don't seem to like my sarcasm much, wonder why?"

Lt. Jazz chuckled, moving forward to sit in the green chair beside her bed. Each motion was smooth, coordinated almost. His sunglasses just added to the slight danger aura she picked up, which was contradictory to the relaxed posture he settled into. He seemed more than happy to make himself at home.

"So, where do ya come from?" He inquired. Laelynn shifted, trying to find the words to describe her childhood stomping grounds. His interest in her was slightly weird, but she humoured him.

"Well, I grew up in Kansas, a small town called Lawrence. Kinda everyone knew everyone kinda thing. Not much happened, kinda usual for small towns you know? But my parents moved out to Indiana after I got stationed there for a couple years to train, so I'm heading back there when I get released from here." Laelynn replied, trying to avoid talking about Grissom too much. She was just glad her parents had settled slightly south of Grissom instead of right beside it in Peru. Kokomo was easier, there were less memories of her team there.

"Sounds coo'. So would ya considur joining NEST if ya had more time ta recover from Mission City?" Lt. Jazz pressed, for some reason entirely focused on her agreement to join their group. That sounded off some warning bells in her head, and she eyed him warily.

"Perhaps. It'd depend if I kept being bugged about joining. What, are the robots some kinda government secret or something?" She drawled, asking the second half sarcasticly.

"Maybah, maybah not." Lt. Jazz drawled in return, a smirk forming on his lips. "well, it was pleasant seein' ya again. Think 'bout joining some more, would ya?" With that, Lt. Jazz took his leave. Laelynn's mind was swirling, trying to distinguish between if he was truly just checking up or if he had an ulterior motive.

She couldn't remember how long she had stared out the same window, pondering the enigma that her twice visitor was. He was mysterious, a paradox in and of itself, emitting the dangerous signals but being completely at ease. She had no doubt he was very skilled, then again you had to be skilled to be promoted so high up the totem pole. The chill of the room seeped through her measly wool blanket that was supplied to every patient, the paper thin hospital gown not helping the matter either. She only really noticed the chill when her pain medication began to wear off, the wound on her side pulsing in anger at her. Curiosity overtook the disgust and slight fear of lay underneath the bandages, and she pushed the button to summon the nurse on duty.

With some pain medication back in her system, Laelynn watched in curious trepidation as the layers of wrapping were peeled off her side. It was gruesome, and would turn into a horrible scar, but it wasn't as bad as Laelynn expected it to be. Bright red, oozing small amounts of blue tinged pus and blood but it looked to be half-healed already. The nurse said something along the same lines as Laelynn had been thinking, calling the doctor in to see. They murmured a few words together, none of which Laelynn heard, before exiting the room simultaneously. Laelynn's eyes snapped back to her wound, sizing up just how large of a scar it'd turn into. She would have a hard time concealing that if she wore anything that bared her midriff. She tilted her head, her fingers creeping down to prod at the burn. Tingles spread from her fingertips through the burned area, shadowed by a thin wave of pain. There was no doubt in her mind that without the pain killers, it would've been horrendous waves of pain.

When the doctor returned, Laelynn was informed that she could be released within a week. This was under the condition that she returned weekly for a month for check-ups. They had no explanation for her about why her wound had healed at such a rapid pace when she asked if they knew. Her heart pounded, fear lurking deep inside that something was wrong with her. She knew that blue wasn't a normal color for pus, and her pounding heart started beating out a faster tempo when she realised she could very well turn into a human experiment for a creepy scientist. As the terror of that very real possibility began to overtake her, Laelynn began to gasp in panicked breaths. She wouldn't be an experiment, she didn't want that! Her heart monitor began to screech as her already fast heartbeat escalated. The nurse came rushing in, pushing soothing words at her in an attempt to calm her down, but Laelynn had already fallen straight into a panic attack. She felt a rush of cold liquid flow into her IV, and the world faded to black.


	2. Chapter 2

**Omg, I'm so sorry this is so late. I've had a lot of problems with the wifi at my new house and then my laptop crashed. But I'm back, and I have the second chapter! I'm thinking of changing the update to about one chapter every two weeks so I can focus more on writing and editing because I've felt very pressured to do a chapter every week. Anyway, enjoy!**

* * *

The wind was rushing through her hair, tangling it into impossible knots as a wide grin spread across Laelynn's face. Her left hand was draped out the window of her cherry Jeep, the other holding the steering wheel loosely. An upbeat song lilted across her radio, the words echoing from both the singer and the teen. Her voice harmonized with the country singer, her many years spent in choir demonstrating themselves. Carefree and fresh out of high school, she was enjoying the last vestiges of her summer before she was sent off for training in the USAF. It was only a week away, and she was pumped to start her life but she would miss her parents majorly while she was gone. It was going to be tough, but serving her country was second only to singing in Nashville. Her head swiveled around to stare at the radio as it crackled before switching to the low croon of a saxophone and a swinging beat. It played for several seconds before reverting to the country song she had been playing previously. Laelynn gave the radio a brief weird look before returning her eyes to the road, just in time for her to slam on the breaks. A man, dressed in a bloody Air Force uniform was standing in the middle of the road, pointing straight at her. His gaze was burning, as if accusing her of something. There was someone shrieking, Laelynn thought before realizing it was her. She grasped desperately at the locks on the car door, hands continuing to slip like she was holding fabric. As her panic rose to it's peak, she was suddenly facing the window in her bedroom with her hands fisted in her comforter. Eyes whirling around the room in confusion, she swung her legs over the side of the bed and grasped her temple between her shaking hands. She drew in short breaths, her mind still reeling from what she had believed was reality.

Her hands continued to shake even after Laelynn took a scalding shower. She stepped out of the steam, fumbling with the towel. Once it was securely wrapped around her trembling form, she retreated across the tiny hall to her room. For a few seconds, she stood in the middle of her room, trying to push the left over terror away. She had to pull herself together for Brad's funeral today.

Mentally praising it was a closed casket funeral, she slipped into her dress uniform. Reaching for the little box on her dresser, she forced her shakes down as far as she could. Gently lifting the lid with the slightest tremble now, she pinned the little purple medal onto her uniform. She had been awarded the Purple Heart for her actions in Mission City. While that was normal, the Air Force had also given her a shiny new Pontiac Solstice as compensation.

Laelynn glanced out the window of her room at the Solstice, giving it a wary look. She had never heard of the USAF giving soldiers compensation in the form of a sports car that looked like it came right off the assembly line. She bent down to adjust her dress shoes before snatching her wallet off her dresser and trudging down the stairs to the main floor of her parents' house. Keys jingled as she paced right past the silver Pontiac towards her beloved Jeep. The cherry paint was fading but she'd had the Cherokee for years now. Laelynn tugged the door shut, glancing up as she inserted the keys into the ignition.

"What the hell?" She murmured with a frown. The driver side door of the Pontiac was sitting wide open. She hadn't touched the Pontiac once since she got home from the hospital, and her parents were in Indianapolis visiting old friends. She reluctantly climbed out of her Jeep to inspect the door. Walking in a circle around the silver sports car, she couldn't see any way for the door to have popped open on its own.

Laelynn flinched as the car horn went off when she slammed the door shut. Glancing at her watch, she brushed the weird events to the back of her mind. If she didn't leave soon, her visit to the florist for flowers would make her late to the funeral. After returning to the Jeep, she promptly started the ignition and pulled out of the drive. As she took off down the street, the little silver sports car sunk low on it's tires.

* * *

The funeral was, as usual for events as such, a sombre affair. Many of Brad's high school friends went up to speak about his love of sports and dedication to his country. Laelynn had debated speaking of their time together on the team but in the end decided against it. That wound was a little too raw right now. He had matured a great amount since high school, if she took their stories to be truth. Brad didn't seem the type to put superglue in a teacher's keyboard, or at least the Brad Laelynn knew wasn't the type. He was focused, an excellent soldier and an even better Commander.

As the twenty-one gun salute lined up to fire, Laelynn steeled herself against the tears that threatened to spill over. Just a few days ago, and a few graves over, she had attended Susanna's funeral. The twenty-one gun salute had rattled her then, and she was rattled this time too. Both the memories of Mission City, and the final realization of _they aren't ever coming back!_ hit her hard, the tears unable to be held any longer. Her shoulders shook, her lips pursed tight in a desperate attempt to silence her sobs.

A hand landed on her stiff shoulders, causing Laelynn to whip her head around to determine who it was. She relaxed a little as she recognized him as the Major who had come to offer her a position at NEST. A little surprised at his attendance of Brad's funeral, she moved over to allow him room beside her. The tears slowed, her hands wiping at her face as she attempted to compose herself.

"Major." She greeted quietly.

"Airwoman." He returned, bowing his head slightly to her. Over his shoulder, she caught sight of a massive GMC truck. The black beast was intimidating, and she hadn't seen it in the funeral parade earlier. She assumed it was the vehicle he had drove here. From around the truck came the weapons specialist the Major had visited with. She almost expected the Lieutenant to come around the truck as well, but he didn't. She had been the recipient of several more visits from Lt. Jazz over the week she spent in the hospital. Each of them were as equally confusing as the first. She still wasn't sure if he was actually there to check on her welfare, or to try to convince her to join NEST.

Laelynn solemnly watched, fighting tears back as the casket lowered into the dark earth. Remaining behind to say her goodbyes privately, she made a split second decision. Tugging the Major's sleeve as he turned to leave, she leaned up to his ear.

"If that offer to join NEST is still open, I'd take you up on that, sir." She said quietly. Major

Lennox's eyebrows rose, before he nodded. They shook hands, the Major promising to call her soon to arrange her orientation, and she stepped forward to drop her bouquet of marigolds on the top of the casket which now rested deep in the earth. She murmured a quick prayer, wishing peace in the afterlife for Brad.

Her boots crunched the leaves underfoot as she turned back toward the cherry Jeep. Tears ran down her face unhindered as she finally let them fall.

* * *

Laelynn yawned, rubbing her puffy eyes. The clock on her microwave read 12:32 AM. She had woken after crying herself to sleep, seeking a glass of water to soothe her sore throat from the harsh sobs her grief had torn from her. Her feet padded softly across her kitchen floor. Pulling her sleep pants up, she retrieved an empty glass. She set it beside the faucet after dumping the last ice cubes in. Her fingers fumbled slightly turning the cold handle to the water on. As she went to fill the ice cube tray, her drowsy mind finally clicked into high gear.

Shrieking, she stumbled backwards from the red liquid flowing out of the faucet. Her back met something firm rather than the hard ledge of her marble island. Twisting around, heart thudding, she saw nothing.

Her eyes were wide, scanning the kitchen for what she had backed into. She twisted in a circle, adrenaline rushing through her veins. Spotting the knife block on a far counter, she scrambled over to grab a large butcher's knife. She raised it in front of her, cautiously edging to the other side of the island. Upon finding only air, she lowered the knife a little in confusion. She was certain she had ran into something firm and warm, much like the chest of another person. The sound of the ice cube tray overflowing caught her attention.

She peeked into the sink, expecting the blood to still be there and finding only water. Had she imagined the whole thing? Nevertheless, she didn't feel safe in her house now. If someone had been behind her, and managed to avoid her sight, she was sure they were still in the house.

Laelynn adjusted her grip on the knife, and hurried to retrieve her spare pillow and blanket from the closet by the living room. Tucking them under her arms, she headed to the garage. When she was little, her parents would find her sleeping in one of their vehicles after she had a nightmare. She didn't know where the habit had come from, but she felt safe tucked in the interior of a vehicle.

She slipped past her father's Dodge Ram truck, intending to climb in her Jeep before she realized it was parked out front. As she realized this, her eyes landed on the little silver Pontiac. It was tucked in by the far side of her parent's large garage. She assumed her father had been tinkering with it, the grease monkey had insisted on a large garage just for that very reason. Tugging experimentally on the handle, she found the car unlocked. Dropping her bedding in the passenger seat, she settled her seat so it was leaning as far back as possible. Dragging the blanket up to cover her curled form, she tried to relax.

This was a difficult task, the adrenaline still rushing through her system as her mind replayed the events in the kitchen. She was sure there had been blood gushing out of the faucet, but there was no evidence of the blood when she had glanced in the steel basin. As she laid there, the seat seemed to slowly conform to the fetal position she had assumed. Her mind was far too occupied to register this any farther then in the back of her mind.

Forcibly shoving the thoughts to the back of her mind, seventeen sheep jumped the fence before she finally dozed off.

* * *

Her eyebrows furrowed, trying to locate the source of the annoying buzzing. As her eyes creaked open, Laelynn was met with a small square of light sitting in the passenger seat of the car. Her hands clasped around the small device, lifting it close to read the screen. She snapped straight awake when she realized it was Major Lennox.

"Morning Major Lennox." She said, trying to lose the groggy undertone from her abrupt awakening.

"Morning, Airwoman Amoldine. You can call me Will, remember? I'm calling to arrange the orientation." Will sounded a little too awake, Laelynn grumbled silently before she realized it was probably nearly afternoon by now.

"Yes, sir. When is the next orientation? I can start as soon as you need me to." She slid out of the Solstice, after a small struggle finding the door handle. Crossing through the garage as he listed off several dates in the next few months, she located her iPad Mini.

"I can attend the July 17th one, sir." She confirmed the date, adding it to her calendar on her tablet. They discussed a few more questions she had, until she remembered to ask him how to locate the base.

"We programmed it into the GPS in the Pontiac the Air Force delivered to your residence. We were hoping you'd accept our offer. We will be activating the GPS system remotely along with the small chip which will automatically open the gates when you get within 50 feet of the entrance. I wish I could talk a little longer, Miss Laelynn, but it seems a few of my men started causing trouble. I'll see you at the orientation." Laelynn dropped the phone on the counter, gazing at the little event icon on July 17th. There was a little under two weeks until then, and she had to figure out how to break the news to her parents that she wasn't done being a soldier.

* * *

 **Response to reviews from Chapter 1:**

 **SunnySides (Guest): Yeah, I'd always wondered what happened to her also, so I gave her a name and story. You're on the right track with your theories, you'll find out how he's alive a couple chapters from now. Thanks for the review!**

 **Thanks to CarsCar2Fanatic, Skyress98, Faith Woodhope, HoneyBlossom99, Katanna Cain, AlchemistPrime, DarkEmpress192, SweetSpark22, angelic-muse-of-nature, twizzlers24 and  '  for follows/favorites!**


End file.
